The World Gold Council has reported that the Central Bank of Russia has more than doubled the pace of its gold purchases, bringing its reserves to the highest level since Putin took power 17 years ago.

Russia’s desire to break away from the hegemony of the U.S. dollar and the dollar payment system is well-known. Over 60% of global reserves and 80% of global payments are in dollars.

The U.S. is the only country with veto power at the International Monetary Fund, the global lender of last resort.

Perhaps Russia’s most aggressive weapon in its war on dollars is gold. The first line of defense is to acquire physical gold, which cannot be frozen out of the international payments system or hacked…. … …

Russia is also part of a reported Chinese plan to install a new international monetary order that excludes U.S. dollars. Under that plan, China could buy Russian oil with yuan and Russia could then exchange that yuan for gold on the Shanghai exchange.

Now it appears Russia has another weapon in its anti-dollar arsenal.

The ultimate loser here will be the dollar. That’s one more reason for investors to allocate part of their portfolios to assets such as gold… … …

The East is the greatest threat to the petrodollar — and Saudi Arabia is already eyeing oil trade in yuan.

Should we welcome closer ties between Saudi Arabia and China? As the Asia Times writes, “China’s slow intertwining with Saudi Arabia complements the Sino-Russo alliance. Primarily, its benefits could lead to a realistic threat to the petrodollar.”

While we’d prefer Saudi Arabia to disappear entirely, if it has to exist — and from a pragmatic standpoint, it probably isn’t going anywhere — it would greatly benefit the world if Riyadh dumped the dollar and adopted the yuan.

According to Akopov, even if Trump reaches an agreement with Russia on a joint military operation against Daesh (ISIS/ISIL) in Syria, de-escalates tensions over Ukraine (providing guarantees that the latter would not join NATO), lifts some of the sanctions on Moscow and allows Europe to restore its ties with Russia, there will still be a number of geopolitical contradictions between Moscow and Washington.

“Russia and China need Iran as their strategic partner, in half a year Tehran will join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO),” the journalist reminds, adding that Moscow and Beijing will not leave their ally in the lurch…>>>…

Local sources said that the Chinese military will soon send its aircraft and aerial equipment to the Hmamiyat Airfields inside the Syrian Bassel Al-Assad International Airport to join the Russian and Syrian air fleet.

When the Chinese Navy finally arrives in Tartous, they will be welcomed by their Russian counterparts that are already stationed in Syria’s Western countryside; however, unlike their Russian allies, the Chinese will not likely send infantry units to deploy around the country, the sources said according to Massdar news website.

The Hmamiyat Airfields are located inside a section of the Bassel Al-Assad International Airport that has been used by the Syrian Air Force as an airbase to conduct flights along the vast coast – the airport itself is located in the Jableh district of Lattakia.

The last 2-3 September visit to China by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s continued execution of the strategic alliance between the two great Eurasian powers.

Relations between Russia and China in the past after the collapse of the Soviet Union took place during a long period of evolution. Vague 90-e in an attempt to integrate the loser in the Cold War countries in the Western world on an equal footing with the winners expected to zero ended in nothing. The completion of this period was marked by the Munich speech of Vladimir Putin in 2007 year. But the relations with the West geopolitics post-Yeltsin Russia is not exhaustive. At the same time, Russia began to develop alternative geopolitical vectors.

Vladimir Putin’s trip to Beijing for the celebration of the anniversary of 70-victory in World War II would be his already 14-th visit to China. Relations between the two countries consistently improved all 15 Putin years, but in the last two years, the convergence of our nations is becoming a major event in geopolitics. The very history of our two countries are destined to become the guarantors of peace in Eurasia, and hence in the world.

As Russia and China were staging their biggest joint maritime exercises in the history, RT correspondent Daniel Bushell was aboard the Russian flagship to take the action in first hand.

Chinese and Russian commanders coordinating the drills, which have been dubbed ‘Joint Sea 2015 II,’ described it as an “unprecedented show of military cooperation,” according to Bushell.

China has reportedly received advanced versions of both the helicopter and the air-defense system from Russia, becoming the first state in the world authorized to buy the S-400 air defense system, the next generation up from the S-300, RT’s correspondent reports.

The fact that Russia has sold it most advanced weapons systems to China “reflects a unique trust from Russia that Beijing won’t pass its hi-tech on to third states,” as well as “an understanding it may need the People’s Liberation Army’s help with future mutual threats”.

The American establishment hates Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin. For daring to challenge Washington’s authority, he’s been designated as the bad guy du jour. With Bin Laden and Saddam dead, many imagined that North Korea’s Kim Jong-un would inherit this role. However, unlike Al Qaeda, North Korea is too weak and insular to threaten the US directly. To preserve the military budget, which increased dramatically since 2001, they need an existential danger. Russia fits the bill.

China and Russia are looking to give Iran’s armed forces a boost with fighter jets and defense systems as part of their strategy against the United States, Taiwan based wantchinatimes reported Wednesday, quoting China’s Sina Military Network.

With the US encouraging its allies to gang up on China in the West Pacific and NATO pushing on Russia in the Black Sea and the Barents Sea, the report said, Beijing and Moscow are striking back by investing their efforts in the Middle East and in particular, Iran-a country that continues to be a tricky issue for Washington.

As part of this strategy, China is said to be aiming to provide Iran with a new fleet of advanced fighter jets, while Russia is considering selling Iran a new missile defense system, the network said.

Upcoming 2015 year will be all about further moves towards the integration of Eurasia as the US is progressively squeezed out of Eurasia, Pepe Escobar believes.

BEIJING, December 31 (Sputnik) — Fasten your seatbelts; 2015 will be a whirlwind pitting China, Russia and Iran against what I have described as the Empire of Chaos.

So yes – it will be all about further moves towards the integration of Eurasia as the US is progressively squeezed out of Eurasia. We will see a complex geostrategic interplay progressively undermining the hegemony of the US dollar as a reserve currency and, most of all, the petrodollar.

NOTICE TO READERS

These infos are not intended to be shocking or to glorify violence in any way. These articles/images/videos are for educational purposes only, for documenting and try to explain the backdrop of a historical ruthless and bloody war, whose characteristics and details are routinely distorted and smothered by the dominant media.